No hope for entry-level sharepoint developers?

Question

Before you say this topic belongs to careeroverflow.com, I've tried searching keyword: sharepoint there and only 2 results came up with that tag! So I've decided to go ahead and ask the question here.

I've been going through monster.com for sharepoint developer jobs. Salary seems to be high. I guess that's good. But have you seen the experience required? 5-10 years on average.

What are the entry-level sharepoint developers supposed to do hmm? How can you get experience without getting a job in the first place. Is Sharepoint one of those jobs left for veteran .NET developers who have migrated to Sharepoint... instead of new undergrads who have learned Sharepoint through reading blogs, books and discussion boards who have no actual experience in the field?

Answer 1

You need to look for .NET development jobs at places that use SharePoint. You can transition to SharePoint fairly easily from ASP.NET + SQL.

Also, speaking as someone who does hiring/interviewing for SharePoint positions, if you get SharePoint certification and have .net experience, you'll be far ahead of most people that apply for SharePoint jobs.

This site might be helpful as well: http://www.sharepointoverflow.com/

Answer 2

The "how many years of experience" issue is common to many job postings, not just Sharepoint. For example, my main experience is with .NET and I've seen many a job posting that ask for 10+ (ten) years of .NET experience. 10 years of .NET isn't really possible since its release date was in 2002. (Unless you were one of the people writing it or were in on a very early beta.)

From my experience, these numbers are loose, often created by non-techies and indicate more a career level than need for experience with a particular technology. So a job posting that asks for 5 to 10 years Sharepoint is really looking for a solid mid to senior level developer with good deal of Sharepoint experience.

Bottom line: Don't take the numbers quite so literally because the potential employer doesn't either.

Answer 3

Entry level positions are less likely to be posted on job sites. Most companies that are looking for entry-level people already have affiliations with universities, recruiters, etc to fill those positions because entry-level people are a dime a dozen. Contact a local tech-services recruiter to find out what you may need to do locally to get in with an SP shop. Begin poking around at local companies in your area to find out who is using SP and see what it takes to get a different, similar entry level position just to get your foot in the door.

As @Paul Sasik said, the numbers are just a tactic to help weed out people who are not serious about it and don't think they have the experience necessary to fulfill a position of that level.

If you want the experience, you have to go out and get it beyond your own qualifications (and DOCUMENT it). The certification is good, but it will only be a talking point. When the interview starts, it's going to come down to your practical experience. "When you built application X listed on your resume, what did you do to overcome limitation Y?" That sort of thing. Get a copy of SharePoint (or access to a copy) using either the free evaluation or the limited support versions. AVOID WSS 2003. Microsoft even admits that it was a complete mistake. Use the 2007 versions or greater because they more closely follow where Microsoft is going with this technology, and those are the skills you will want to possess.

The key is: you don't need a job doing SharePoint to learn and gain experience with SharePoint. You only need a job that will tune your skills in web architecture, software production, etc, and that will provide you access to SharePoint tools (they're expensive, so learning on your own can be a little tricky). Come up with your own projects. Duplicate other projects that you find on the web. Solve problems that have already been solved so that when you're asked how to solve them, you have something a little more anecdotal and "interview-ish" to respond with than, "Well the documentation says to ... "

PS - I personally dislike SharePoint, but I recognize the employment opportunities available to those willing to put in the time and effort to do it. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

instead of new undergrads who have learned Sharepoint through reading blogs, books and discussion boards who have no actual experience in the field?

Have you learned SharePoint? Really? How much?

No offence but stretching the truth is a real problem in tech recruitment so statements like this will be automatically translated by those recruiting to "Has heard of it, might even be able to name a few terms if I am lucky".

So what to do? Its not impossible - you've got to prove you know something.

• Write some blog posts (either on your own site or look for pulication on something like CodeProject or EndUserSharePoint)
• Create an open source tool/web part (Codeplex or another open source site)
• Add features to an existing tool/web part (check the issues lists for inspiration)

Putting demonstratable things like these on your application will get you noticed regardless of a lack of experience in past jobs.